Firm Tackles AWS Lambda Security

Serverless computing is a hot topic in the cloud, but it requires a different approach to security, says cloud native security specialist Observable Networks Inc.

All the major players have hopped on the serverless bandwagon, providing services such as Microsoft's Azure Functions, Google Cloud Functions and AWS Lambda from Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS).

For the latter, Observable Networks today announced updates to its Endpoint Modeling technology aimed at providing security-related insights when working with AWS Lambda functions, via modeling and the automatic detection of behavior aberrations.

"Traditional security monitoring tools are not equipped to monitor Lambda functions," the company said in a statement today. "Observable Networks provides its customers with continuous Lambda function activity assessment and automated recognition of behavior changes that might be a sign of compromise by a third party."

With AWS Lambda and other comparable services from providers, cloud computing customers don't have to worry about the provisioning and management of servers. In the serverless approach on the AWS cloud, developers simply upload their code to the platform, and various kinds of triggers can kick off the execution of the code, typically in response to events.

"At the core of serverless computing is AWS Lambda, which lets you run your code without provisioning or managing servers," AWS says on its Serverless Computing Web site. "With Lambda, you can run code for virtually any type of application or backend service, and it takes care of everything required to run and scale your code with high availability."

AWS does provide its own built-in security measures for Lambda, as the service's FAQ states: "Each AWS Lambda function runs in its own isolated environment, with its own resources and file system view. AWS Lambda uses the same techniques as Amazon EC2 to provide security and separation at the infrastructure and execution levels."

Observable Networks, however, says it offers more.

"Another advantage of modeling Lambda functions is the real-time alert insight it provides DevOps and operations into possible misconfigurations that could inadvertently trigger spikes in unexpected processing use," the company said. "When comparing the cost of the Observable Cloud service to possible unnecessary computing costs, many organizations will reduce overall costs."

The company's support for AWS Lambda is now operational, available with a subscription to its Observable Cloud service, which is available as a free trial.

About the Author

David Ramel is editor in chief of Visual Studio Magazine and Application Development Trends Magazine.